We’ve lucked out again with a little state park just outside of Wasilla tonight. $20 and we are the only campers in our section of 6 sites so it feels like we’re in the middle of nowhere and all on our own. Seriously considered the parking lot in Fred Myers as we came through Wasilla but this is a way better option! The kettle is bubbling away and tea will be ready in a few minutes.
The drive down from Denali today didn’t even begin until noon as we took advantage of our late check out to sleep in and have lengthy showers this morning. Although there was no rain today the cloud cover was still pretty low and so no sign of Denali’s peak again today. This makes us even more grateful for having decided to catch the plane back from the lodge yesterday afternoon as that was the only chance to have seen the bit of the peak that we did catch a glimpse of as well as that face of the glacier that neither of us will ever forget!
First stop this afternoon was at a little roadside diner for some fresh meat pies that were piping hot and delicious. Each one was made to order and the place was packed for good reason. For a minute I had a creepy thought that was Sweeney Todd’esque but that passed as I hadn’t seen any barber shops or the like for many many miles. Once our hunger had been sated and we’d picked up another great little tourist booklet about the region we were off and heading south once more.
Next real stop was at the Kahiltna Birch Works Syrup manufacturer. They are the largest producer of Birch Syrup in the world and it was a great stop! We got to learn about the process of tapping and making the syrup as well as getting to taste all of the different runs. The tapping season only lasts for 3 weeks in early spring (as long as the sap is running and until the leaves are out). From there the sap is put into a reverse osmosis machine to reduce the amount of water that is in the sap and once it hits about 40% sugar left they put it into the boiler and reduce it down until it is 67% sugar because at that point it is syrup. Birch sap differs from maple sap in that it is only 10% sugar at tapping whereas the maple is about 40% sugar right from the tree. It also differs in that maple sugars are sucrose and birch is fructose so for those of you who are into understanding the different kinds of sugars....it is believed that fructose is easier for our bodies to process. We also learned during our tastings that the syrup made from the first run of the sap each season is lightest in colour and in flavour too. By the time the final runs are being processed into syrup they are as dark as molasses and taste almost as strong as molasses too. The most popular product Kahiltna sells is a blend that while very delicious couldn’t touch the first run in my opinion. That first run batch from 2018 has an amazing buttery flavour and is downright gluggable!
From Kahiltna we went another 10 miles to the end of the spur road we were on that paralleled the Parks Highway. At the end of that road we reached the little town of Talkeetna. This bustling little place is quite touristy and is the jumping off point for climbers bound for Denali. We thought about climbing Denali, but just for a minute as we then realized we’d already seen that glacier up close the day before and we’d taken a much easier route! LOL. We wandered the Main Street of this bustling town and located a pub where I opted for the halibut and Lynda for the salmon. Both were delicious and then we walked our dinner off with a little wander down to the river’s edge in the hope that Denali would peek out at us from behind her cloud cover. But alas...she was still in hiding. Perhaps we’ll see her from Anchorage in all her fullness tomorrow. :-)
With these long days (it is 10:30 as I type this and it is total daylight) there is never any rush to get to a site to set up for the night so we just take our time and check out all the little towns we go through. One thing that we have noticed in all these towns is that we must be in the Bible Belt of Alaska as there is a different church on every corner in every town. We also take our time to watch for wildlife along all the roads and today we were rewarded with another adult moose just behind some small trees at the edge of the highway. There continue to be highway signs warning us to be diligent in watching for moose so we do. We stopped and got gas again and continue to be consistent with our usage. We fill up about every 300 km and the cost is always about $25CAD when we’re in the states or $30CAD when we’re in Canada to travel 100 km. This RV business isn’t cheap but it is kind of nice to always have your bed and bathroom with you. :-)
I’m about ready for my second coffee and baileys and Lynda has about finished a pot of tea. She’s already in her p.j.’s and got her nose in a book which looks pretty appealing to me so.....till next time.....
L & L
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